Bears and Circuses
by mentalmishaps
Summary: In The Crossroads of Destiny, many fans noted a mistake in the location of Bosco. After Azula captured Toph and Sokka, he was led off by the Earth King. However, we later find him in the throne room with Ty Lee. This is one way to explain the mistake.


**A oneshot about one of my favorite ships. Takes place during the Crossroads of Destiny (you should figure it out quickly). I obviously do not own Avatar (why does everyone post this?) which is probably for the best. :)**

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"Get them all out of my sight."

Mai and I grabbed the blind girl and headed towards the prison while Azula stayed in the throne room to do, well, Azula things.

"Ugh, now we can finally take off these stupid uniforms," Mai said. "I cannot believe that anyone would fight in these. And what's with the makeup? Who needs makeup to fight? It'll just get messed up anyway."

"Shh, don't talk so loud, at least not in the prison, the warriors will hear you!"

"So?" Sometimes Mai could be so insensitive. I heard a sad groan come from Sokka. I wondered if Azula would let him go once the city was taken. He was so cute! She wouldn't let him stay in there. He could be a servant or something. Oooh, maybe _my_ servant! Hmm, I wonder how he'd look in an apron…

"Excuse me?" A voice came from behind us. It was the Earth King. "Um, I need to feed Bosco, do you think perhaps-"

"Quiet you!" One of the Dai Li snapped.

I sighed. The bear, Bosco, that is, was a legend at our circus. We had heard tell of the strange animal. I could never tell Azula this, but it was the first thing I had thought of when she mentioned going to Ba Sing Se. But I hadn't gotten to see much of him. We had to stay in disguise, and we weren't allowed to, what was it? "Fraternize with the citizens of Ba Sing Se any more than required to keep our profile low." That was what she had said. So I'd only gotten to pet the bear once. It couldn't hurt now.

"Mai, hold her," I dropped the little girl's hand, ignored Mai's complaints, and hurried to see Bosco. "Can I pet him?"

"You?" The Earth King said. "Why would you want to pet Bosco?"

"I LOVE animals; there were a lot in the circus I worked in! We had all kinds of bears there, but none like him."

"You worked in a circus? I LOVE circuses! They used to come to the palace when I was little! What did you do?"

"Oh, I had my own show! I did flips and jumps and stuff up in the air."

"W-Ow!" The Earth King had stopped and was pushed by the Dai Li.

"Hey, Earth guys, open this door," Mai had stopped up ahead by an empty cell. The girl and Sokka were tossed inside.

"Please let him go, I'll watch him," I said to the agents leading the Earth King. "So, what's your name?"

"I'm just known as the Earth King. It promotes a sense of greatness."

"Yeah, but what's your name?"

"Kuei. What's yours?"

"It's Ty Lee. So can I pet Bosco?"

"Are you two going to be long?" I ignored Mai.

"Sure, just be gentle," I reached out to stroke him; he was soft and so cute! "Aww, he's sooo sweet! And I love his little jacket!"

"It's silk," the Earth King beamed proudly.

"Wow!"

"Ugh, here, Ty Lee take the keys to the cell, lock them up when you're done giggling at His Highness. You. Come." She motioned to the Dai Li and tossed the keys into my hand before sulking off.

"I'm sorry about having to lock you and Bosco up. Especially Bosco, I mean you're the King, you have to be locked up. But Bosco didn't really do anything."

"I understand. You seem awfully nice to be an enemy."

"I try to be. Lately my aura has been a little, well, less pink than I'd like. I had to leave the circus to join Azula."

"I'm sorry. Why?"

"Azula is… persuasive."

"I see. Do you know what color my aura is?"

"It's a yellowy green- the happy kind not the gross kind. Like really fresh grass in the sun."

"Excuse me, but could you just lock us up already, you're making me sick!"

"Sorry, Toph," the Earth King said. He turned back to me. "That really is amazing! You have a gift."

My cheeks felt red. "I wish I could talk more, but I have to put you in the cell now. Hey, do you want me to take Bosco up to the throne room? I could watch after him until Azula decides what to do with you!"

"Yeah, okay!" he grinned. "I'm sure you can take care of him. Go on Bosco, Ty Lee will take care of you until I get to see you again."

"Do you mind if I teach him some tricks?"

"I'd be delighted if you would!"

"Well, have a nice stay!" I smiled as he walked into the cell. I heard Toph and Sokka groaning irritably about something.

"You enjoy the palace, and work on repinking your aura!"

I shut the door and waved through the window before leaving. As I walked off I heard them talking.

"You couldn't have done something, could you?" Sokka said.

"You think I should have given her a hug?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I meant. A hug yes, don't kick her in the stomach and let us escape, no, you should have _hugged_ her."

"Hmm, I just didn't want to seem too forward."

"Well, we wouldn't want that now would we?"

"Certainly not! Thank you Sokka!"

There was the dull thud of someone banging their head against a door. Mai did that a lot. I found the throne room empty.

"We- why are you leading that bear?" Mai asked.

"Kuei is letting me take care of him."

"Kuei?"

"The Earth King."

"Oh. We won in case you were wondering," I wasn't surprised. Azula had a way with people. "Azula's off getting the Avatar."

"Aaaannnnd?"

"And what?"

"Who else is she getting?"

Mai sighed. "Zuko."

I burst into giggles. Teasing Mai was so much fun. Mai stared at me for a minute before speaking.

"What are you thinking about?" I realized I had cocked my head in thought.

"Oh, I was just wondering something."

"What?"

"How do you think Ku- The Earth King- would look in an apron?"

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**C'mon, you can TOTALLY see them as a couple. They'd make everyone around them sick from the Happy-Go-Lucky, though. Please Read and Review ESPECIALLY if you have advice on writing believable romantic-ish interactions. I definately need help with that.**


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